Cocaine Addiction News and Research

RSS

Cocaine dependence (or addiction) is physical and psychological dependency on the regular use of cocaine. It can result in severe physiological damage, psychosis, schizophrenia, lethargy, depression, or a potentially fatal overdose.

Drug overdose deaths surpass road traffic accident deaths in U.S.

According to newly released figures, drug-related deaths now outnumber traffic fatalities in the U.S., with the rise driven by an increase in prescription narcotic overdoses.

19 Sep 2011

UN report on illicit drug use worldwide

According to a new United Nations report the use of stimulant drugs of abuse like amphetamine, ecstasy and meth is increasing worldwide. The report adds that the growing trade in these illegal drugs and the high profits they bring to criminals are posing an increasing threat to health and security.

14 Sep 2011

Drug use among young adults on the rise in U.S.

Nearly one in 10 Americans report regularly using illegal drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants or prescription drugs used recreationally, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health made public today. The survey, sponsored by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), collects the data from interviews with 67,500 randomly selected people 12 years or older.

12 Sep 2011

Less smokers but more drug addicts: Australian population survey

...

26 Jul 2011

Quitting cannabis use in your 20s cuts progression to other drugs

Quitting cannabis use in your 20s significantly reduces your chance of progressing to other illicit drug use, according to research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

18 Jul 2011

Propranolol can block brain from retrieving cocaine-associated memories

New discoveries by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) offer potential for development of a first-ever pharmacological treatment for cocaine addiction.

16 Jul 2011

Alkermes commences ALKS 5461 phase 1/2 study for treatment-resistant depression

Alkermes, Inc. today announced the initiation of a phase 1/2 study of ALKS 5461 for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). ALKS 5461 is the combination of ALKS 33, a proprietary opioid modulator, and buprenorphine. TRD, which is also known as refractory depression, refers to depressive episodes that are not adequately controlled by standard antidepressant therapy.

15 Jun 2011

Omeros' PDE7 program expands addiction franchise

Omeros Corporation today announced that its phosphodiesterase 7 inhibitors demonstrated robust efficacy in animal models of nicotine addiction.

6 May 2011

Omeros announces license agreement with Daiichi Sankyo for PDE7 inhibitors

Omeros Corporation today announced that its exclusive license to phosphodiesterase 7 inhibitors from Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. has been amended to include addiction and compulsive disorders in the field of use.

23 Feb 2011

Vaccines for alcoholism and cocaine addiction coming soon

In a latest development, researchers from Chile have come up with a vaccine to cure alcoholics. It will help them kick the habit by creating a sensation of a terrible hangover after just a few drinks. The mechanism by which this vaccine acts is by neutralizing a group of enzymes that help the body to break down alcohol. When the enzymes aldehyde dehydrogenase is disabled the body accumulates the alcohol to create the hangovers after just a few drinks.

9 Jan 2011

Unique vaccine produces long-lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice

Researchers from The Scripps Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, and Cornell University have produced a long-lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice by giving them a unique vaccine that combines bits of the common cold virus with a particle that mimics cocaine.

5 Jan 2011

Safe vaccine protects mice against effects of cocaine

Researchers have produced a lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice by giving them a safe vaccine that combines bits of the common cold virus with a particle that mimics cocaine.

5 Jan 2011

Researchers develop unique vaccine that produces long-lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice

5 Jan 2011

Vaccine blocks cocaine high in mice - human trials likely

Researchers have produced a lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice by giving them a safe vaccine that combines bits of the common cold virus with a particle that mimics cocaine.

4 Jan 2011

Lancet editorial highlights similarities between current health challenges, those from 1911

"After a century of progress, the issues that medicine must tackle in the coming year aren't that different from the ones that faced doctors at the start of 1911, according to the observations" published Jan. 1 in a Lancet editorial, LiveScience reports (Parry, 12/30).

4 Jan 2011

Alkermes announces preliminary results from ALKS 33 Phase 2 study in alcohol dependence

Alkermes, Inc. today announced preliminary results from a phase 2 clinical study of ALKS 33, one of Alkermes' proprietary candidates for the treatment of reward disorders and other central nervous system (CNS) disorders. The 12-week study was designed to assess the safety and efficacy of daily oral administration of three different dose levels of ALKS 33 compared to placebo in 400 alcohol dependent patients.

9 Dec 2010

Alkermes's ALKS 33 drug candidate offers potential treatment for multiple disease indications

Alkermes, Inc. today announced the presentation of promising preclinical results for its proprietary opioid modulator, ALKS 33, showing the drug candidate's potential in multiple disease indications.

17 Nov 2010

Positive results from Alkermes combination Phase 1 study of ALKS 33 and buprenorphine for cocaine addiction

Alkermes, Inc. today announced positive topline results from a phase 1 clinical study of an investigational combination of ALKS 33, one of Alkermes' proprietary candidates, and buprenorphine, an existing medication for the treatment of opioid addiction, for the treatment of cocaine addiction.

25 Oct 2010

Researchers discover how cocaine corrupts brains' reward center

Mount Sinai researchers have discovered how cocaine corrupts the brain and becomes addictive. These findings-the first to connect activation of specific neurons to alterations in cocaine reward-were published in Science on October 15. The results may help researchers in developing new ways of treating those addicted to the drug.

19 Oct 2010

Nicotine reduction strategy should be an urgent research priority

After a major review of scientific information, six leading tobacco research and policy experts have concluded that a nicotine reduction strategy should be an urgent research priority because of its potential to profoundly reduce the death and disease from tobacco use. Their findings were published today in the journal Tobacco Control.

4 Oct 2010